Various hanger assemblies for suspending an external store from aircraft exist in the prior art. These hanger assemblies are used, for example, to suspend aerial missiles, which are released while an aircraft is in flight, or, alternatively, suspend instrumentation pods, which generally are maintained fixed to the aircraft for indefinite periods.
A hanger assembly for suspending a missile to be launched from aircraft often includes a T-shaped hanger member which functions as the mechanical interface between the hanger assembly and a launcher mechanism fixed to an aircraft. In the prior art, the T-shaped member is attached directly to, or to a thin narrow strap that is clamped around, the external casing of the missile, and is configured to slide along a guiding rail of the launcher. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,393,105 and 5,970,842, incorporated by reference herein.
It is well known that a hanger assembly is subjected to heavy wear during use. The weight of a suspended external store itself, which can be substantial in the case of missiles, applies a load upon the hanger assembly, particularly at the region of the hanger assembly including the mechanical interface. Further, aerodynamic loading on the external store, which can be caused by vibration, shock and wind shear during flight, in combination with the weight of the suspended store, applies a heavy load upon the hanger assembly. If the loading on the hanger assembly is severe enough, the member establishing a mechanical interface with the aircraft can bend or deflect, which can result in failure of the entire hanger assembly.
In addition, the loading that can occur during operational use of the hanger assembly can apply stress to the casing of an external store, which in turn can cause the store, such as an instrumentation pod or a missile, to break in half and fall off or hit the wing of the aircraft. In many military applications of prior art hanger assemblies, it has been found that a hanger assembly which is bolted directly onto a missile does not provide the casing of the missile with adequate stiffness to avoid failure of the casing at the region associated with the hanger assembly.
Several prior art hanger assemblies are in the form of a band having an aperture through which an electrical connection between the external store and the aircraft can be established. For these hanger assemblies, the repetitive vibration and shock occurring during operational use generates stresses at the region of the band where the aperture is defined, which sometimes can result in failure of the band at such region.
Failure of a hanger assembly or an attached external store during flight in a military aircraft application is highly undesirable, because of the potential of damage to the military aircraft and of the adverse affect on the ability of the aircraft to counter an enemy aircraft.
Therefore, a need exists for a hanger assembly for use on an aircraft which is easy to manufacture and use, provides for flexible use among various types and sizes of external stores, reduces loading at a region of the hanger assembly that interfaces with the aircraft and reduces loading upon the casing of an external store suspended by the hanger assembly.